The Puente Project is a national-award winning program that has helped tens of thousands of educationally disadvantaged students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn degrees, and return to the community as leaders and mentors to future generations.

Begun in 1981, Puente combines accelerated instruction, intensive academic counseling, and mentoring by members of the community. Highline College will be the first Puente institution in Washington State. The program will accept 25 students each fall quarter.

Puente Cohort Course Components

Puente is compatible with a variety of different educational focuses. You will enroll in the Puente courses taught by the Puente co-coordinators and also take non-Puente courses for your educational pathway. Puente is a curriculum based program, all courses are required. All Puente classes are held in the Puente classroom 25-608.

What is Puente? Puente is a learning community!

Puente students are enrolled in two classes together each quarter during their first-year at Highline. A Puente academic advisor helps students choose the third class and plan their second year at Highline.

Contact Us

Stephanie Ojeda Espinoza

Stephanie was born in East Los Angeles, California. She was raised in Bakersfield, where she completed her B.A. and M.A. in English at California State University, Bakersfield. After completing her M.A. and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Writing, she moved to the San Francisco area to pursue her teaching career in higher education. In 2014, Stephanie moved from California to Washington for a tenured teaching position in the English department at Highline College. Stephanie has worked in various student outreach programs, such as the Umoja learning community and is currently co-coordinating the Puente Program at Highline College. Stephanie identifies as Salvadoreña, Mexicana, and American. Stephanie’s passion is improving educational access and equity for students and educators.

Joshua Magallanes

Joshua grew up in a small Mining town of San Manuel, AZ. As a Latino growing up in Arizona, he too was challenged with what it meant to become a learner in higher education. He attended Pima College in Tucson where he walked on to play baseball only later leaving the sport to become the first in his family to enter college and graduate with a Bachelor of Science from Northern Arizona University. In 2004, he moved to Seattle where he later began working at Highline College that same year. Joshua received his Masters in Community Counseling from Seattle University in June 2012. He has also worked as a consultant for Edmonds School District, where he provided training for professional development for K-12 staff and administrators. He has worked in higher education for the past13 years for both universities and colleges. Through his work, Josh explores the societal expectations placed on communities of color and Queer communities across the state, regionally, nationally and globally. Joshua has spoken at and led workshops such as the Students of Color conference, Annual American Counseling Association and Black and Brown Male Summit, Keynote for Queer I am and has sat on boards for scholarship selections. Joshua is also committee chair for the LGBTQIA Task Force at Highline College and is a member of the board of directors for Gay City Men’s Health Project.